Okay, okay, Dell, but whcih model (my last computer choosing thread, I swear)

In My Humble Opinion
1

In this thread most of you agreed not to deal with the eBay seller.

Good points were made and it seems Dell is the way to go. I saw their various upgrade specials, but I won’t be buying a new machine for at least another 7-10 days so I won’t be able to take advantage of them.

Which model to get?

What’s self-upgrading a Dell like? Any hidden proprietary nasties waiting for me?

As I mentioned before, I want to be able to capture and edit video and burn DVDs.

Dell owners, come forth and testify!

Pricewise, I can go up to $1700 or so.

2

I do not own a Dell, but to answer your question,

may I suggest one with spell check? :wink:

3

See? I need a new computer before it’s too late!

:smiley:

4

as far as the machines i’ve worked on in the past few years Dell does not use any proprietary parts(nor do any other major manufacterer). Upgrading them is just like upgrading any other computer. The case might be a peice of crap however. You also might get a motherboard with as little as 3 pci slots/1agp – but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem since those motherboards generally come with everything integrated.

5

Based on my Dell buying experiences, my dos pesos:

  1. Buy from the small business website. Their prices are generally lower and you can configure a system easier without overpriced goodies like speakers and such. The disadvantage is that you will have to pay sales tax but the price savings is usually in your favor still.

  2. Buy a the end of Dell’s fiscal quarter. Next one coming up is end of April. The last full week of that month will typically have smokin’ deals, although occasionally Dell throws in a surprise special at unpredictable times.

  3. In desktops, the 4600 or 8300 are the best, value-wise. The 4600 case does not have much expandibility. I don’t have qualms with the case quality.

  4. Quality is generally good. Internal parts are name brand, not proprietary, and can be upgraded. You’ll probably have a bigger hassle trying to get updated drivers from the manufacturer than anything else. Memory upgrades can be had cheaper at www.crucial.com than from Dell.

For $1700, you should be able to get a kick ass system, including large LCD monitor.

6

For $1700 I just bought an awesome Dell laptop. It doesn’t compare to the hardware that you can put in a desktop but it’s mighty nice to surf on the sofa. :wink:

Another vote here for crucial.com to buy memory. Several years ago we had an older machine with no documentation and they were able to match the memory in order for us to upgrade. I’ve since bought from them several times and have been delighted.

Enjoy!

7

One thing you might want to watch out for - does Dell still use non-standard power supplies? I know for a while they were using non-ATX motherboard connectors, that looked like and fit into standard ATX motherboard plugs, and if you plugged a standard ATX powersupply into a Dell motherboard, or vice versa, the magic smoke would bellow out of the computer. :slight_smile: I wonder if they do that any more.